‘NORCO’ is an engrossing and intriguing point-and-click adventure game set in Norco, Louisiana and surrounding communities. The game starts off with an investigation into the circumstances that preceded the death of the playable character’s estranged mother. What seems to be a straightforward mystery would gradually turn into something more surprising and extraordinary that I wasn’t prepared for. The intimacy in the descriptions of the locations and inhabitants provide a sense of authenticity to the dystopian narrative set in the near-future. Norco is depicted with fondness and despair in equal measure, creating a jarring dichotomy that acts a through line. The raw pixel art of places and people convey the hopelessness of the times, and suggest that things are more than amiss in Norco. Through the text and art, you can feel the connection that the developers have to the region, and that this game feels personal to them. The adventuring from the first-person perspective is pretty standard fare, with puzzles that aren’t difficult to solve in general. Still, there are alternate routes and little surprises waiting to be discovered if you care to venture out of the adventure gaming comfort zone. QTE mini-games, featured heavily in the few turn-based combat scenarios, may feel slightly incongruous, but does provide a change of pace. The two boat navigation sequences, which reminded me of ‘Kentucky Route Zero’, add to the grim depiction of the setting. ‘NORCO’ is memorable dystopian noir. The uneasiness – with something being always off-kilter – that permeates throughout the game is mesmerizing, making exploration in this adventure game truly wondrous. With a story that is captivating and surprising, and art that is equally spellbinding and a bit eerie, it’s without a doubt that I would recommend ‘NORCO’. It’s easily one of the best mature point-and-click adventure games you can play.
‘Crime O’Clock’ is a hybrid of hidden object game and visual novel. The hidden object game portion was well made and challenging. It tasks players to search for and track people and objects in a moment in time that consists of 10 scenes or “ticks”. When the 10 ticks are viewed in order, they tell stories of the many individual characters. In this regard, ‘Crime O’Clock’ truly stands out among its peers in the genre. Yet, the visual novel part drags the game down. As in many VNs, players have neither agency in deciding how the story would progress, nor freedom to solve the presented problems in other ways. I expected the game to free the shackles of the tutorial after the first case or two. Instead, it kept telling me what to do for the entire game! I couldn’t even explore different ticks at my own pace or choosing in the main campaign. The game becomes annoying quickly with the unnecessarily convoluted plot, an overly wordy in-game companion, repetitive and boring minigames, as well as transition animations that last a second or two too long. Pretty much all non-hidden-object elements of ‘Crime O’Clock’ is a crime on game design. Thankfully, there is the Fulcrum Stories game mode. In this “optional” mode, players can explore the 10 ticks in the five ages (Atlantean, Lost, Steam, Information, and Aeon) at their own pace, searching for individuals who are parodies of well-known characters in pop culture. Upon finding a character across the 10 ticks, the game will recap his/her story during that moment in time. THIS is what ‘Crime O’Clock’ should be! I’m generously awarding ‘Crime O’Clock’ 3 out of 5 stars because of the challenging hidden object gameplay, the highly detailed and thoroughly conceived stories of the many individual characters, and the Fulcrum Stories mode. In spite of its glaring flaws, it’s still worth checking out when it goes on sale.
Of all the cat-themed hidden object games available at the time of writing, Devcats’ ‘Full of Cats’ series is my favourite. I’ve played 4 of them to date: ‘A Building Full of Cats’, ‘An Arcade Full of Cats’, ‘A Park Full of Cats’, and most recently, ‘A Castle Full of Cats’. All of them radiates charm and sophistication with its detailed art, and offers easy to moderately difficult puzzles that will appeal to casual gamers. Among the 4 titles that I’ve played, ‘A Castle Full of Cats’ really stands out for being of both Metroidvania and hidden object genres. The rudimentary Metroidvania elements made this game a bit more elaborate than I had anticipated. The final puzzle amazed me, and I wish there were a few more surprising variations like that. Set against a soundtrack that also pays homage to ‘The Secret of Monkey Island’ and Danny Elfman’s ‘Batman’ themes, ‘A Castle Full of Cats’ delivers nothing but wholesome, Halloween-for-children kind of fun. Although I completed the game in under 2 hours, I felt its length felt just right for a game of this kind; any longer would make it overstay its welcome. With so many free cat-themed hidden object games available, the fact that I’m willing to spend money on ones made by Devcats should be indicative of the high regard that I have for their work. ‘A Castle Full of Cats’ is one of the best titles in the series, and I highly recommend this game to fans of this genre – cat lover or not.
Just when you thought ‘Metal Slug’ could not get more outrageous after ‘Metal Slug 2’/’Metal Slug X’, SNK dialed it up to twelve with ‘Metal Slug 3’. On top of the four returning playable characters from ‘2’ and ‘X’, this game featured new weapons and vehicles/Slugs. You thought a camel with a mounted cannon in ‘2’ and ‘X’ was wild, how about an elephant, an ostrich, a submarine, a spaceship, and a drilling machine? Yeah! Yet, what really distinguished ‘Metal Slug 3’ from its predecessors was the introduction of alternate routes, which made this game highly replayable. Again, just when you thought the final battle against alien threat in ‘2’ and ‘X’ was surprising and thrilling, wait till you get a load of this game’s final mission! It’s not just epic…it’s absolutely bonkers! ‘Metal Slug 3’ is a must-buy for any fan of the series.
I loved the cartoony groundedness of ‘Metal Slug’, so when ‘Metal Slug 2’/’Metal Slug X’ introduced supernatural and science fiction elements, I was a bit apprehensive at first. But, the more I played it, the more I appreciated the weird, outlandish, and wild direction SNK decided to take it. Suddenly, ‘Metal Slug’ had become the cartoony, funnier version of ‘Contra’ and I loved it. Being able to ride a cannon-mounted camel and fly a jet fighter also made me squeal with glee as I brought on the mayhem. Seeing your character get fat from consuming too much food items was just hilarious. ‘Metal Slug X’ embodies pure video gaming joy and creativity, and I highly recommend it!
Neo-Geo had some great early titles, but it was ‘Metal Slug’ that made me want to get the system. This war-themed run-and-gun shooter with colourful, cartoony sprites was not only full of explosive action, but also humour. Throw melee attack and a combat vehicle (Slug) for a bit of variety, and you’ve got yourself a hit game. Although my childhood dream of getting a Neo-Geo never came to fruition, I now get to play this legal arcade ROM, which has been decently emulated by Dotemu, in the comfort of my own home on my PC. Considering how many Continues I’ve used to finish this game, and translating that to dollar value back in 1996, I must say getting this at regular price is still a bargain!
I couldn’t stop playing ‘Cook, Serve, Delicious!’. I thought I’d only spend a few hours playing this game that I got at major discount, but I ended up spending over 28 hours on it. That’s how addictive ‘CSD!’ is. ‘CSD!’ is not so much a restaurant simulator as a speed typing game. It tries to convey the intensity of cooking in a restaurant by having you press keyboard keys in the correct order as quickly as possible to prepare your customers’ orders. Even as a 90 to 100 WPM touch typist, I found the game moderately to highly challenging as it also puts my time management skills, reflexes and memory to the test. The goal is to elevate your hole-in-the-wall dining establishment to a platinum-starred restaurant by serving dishes on your menu quickly and accurately. Along the way, you’ll add new dishes to diversify your offerings that better fit your eatery’s rising status, and buy new equipment to make your burgeoning business (slightly) more efficient. Each round lasts a minimum of 20 in-game days, which I found to be a tad too long. Still, they did give me ample opportunities to hone my reflexes and time management skills. Thankfully, there are challenges to shake things up: periodic health inspections, bet challenges, cooking for online dating matches and VIPs, catering jobs, Iron Cook challenges, and Hungry Festivities events. While I’m aware ‘CSD!’ is a typing game that doesn’t aim of realism, I did find not being able to correct easily-fixable cooking mistakes and to do pre-service food prep (e.g., as a bonus stat boost) to be missed opportunities to round out the gameplay. But since the core gameplay is so simple and solid, these are just minor quibbles. Despite moments of contrived difficulty spike and some slightly imbalanced gameplay, ‘CSD!’ is an easy recommendation from me if you want a game that provides brief, but addictive bursts of distractions and/or challenge. Just be warned that a 10-minute session can easily turn into a 2-hour one.
‘TOEM: A Photo Adventure’ is a special game. It abounds in spirit of adventure and discovery, exudes kind-heartedness, and radiates positivity. There are no villains to defeat, no clocks to beat, and no world-ending threat to neutralize; you’re simply a young photographer on a rite of passage to witness and photograph a phenomenon called a Toem. Along the way, you’ll visit various locales and help people and creatures in need with your camera and photographs. And that’s it. ‘TOEM’ is a simple adventure game full of simple to mildly challenging puzzles or quests to complete. A few are mandatory to move the story along; many are optional if you just want to scurry the site of the Toem. But, I recommend taking your sweet time exploring and interacting with all the in-game characters because that’s the true joy of the game. It offers a leisurely, delightful, and uncomplicated adventure gaming experience. As a bonus, you’ll get to go on an in-game vacation with more photography puzzle-solving fun after finishing the base game. This new level adds depth to the original gameplay by introducing a day-and-night mechanic. By the end of it, I wish there were more to play even though I was completely satisfied by what I experienced. It’s refreshing to have a game like ‘TOEM’ in the vast ocean of video games. When you need a break from adrenaline-pumping, stress-inducing, and unnecessarily difficult or frustrating titles, THIS is the game that you should play for a spiritual reset.
‘Before Your Eyes’ is an interactive, experiential story about a soul in the afterlife. It’s full of surprises and pathos, and one that I won’t spoil here. Aside from a few occasions where you get to make decisions, ‘Before Your Eyes’ is mostly a short, linear, but a powerfully emotional journey. While it may seem like a gimmick on paper, using a webcam when playing ‘Before Your Eyes’ actually enhances the experience. Don’t worry, you can play it without a webcam using keyboard and mouse, but if you do have one, I highly recommend using it for greater immersion. During several points in the story, you advance the narrative through eye blinks. Because blinking is semi-involuntary, you may unintentionally skip some parts of the tale. Given the story’s subject and theme, this mechanic makes sense and adds ambiguity to the whole proceedings. Regardless of how you choose to play ‘Before Your Eyes’ – with a webcam and/or with keyboard and mouse – you can be assured that the story will have its loose ends tied up. ‘Before Your Eyes’ is one of the more evocative interactive stories I’ve experienced to date. The subject matter hit me hard in a few ways, and I think it will evoke similarly strong emotions for some players. If you are curious, and are willing to give the eye blink story advancement mechanic a try, don’t pass up on ‘Before Your Eyes’.
Hidden objects games seem like a dime a dozen nowadays, especially with free-to-play ones popping up now and then. So what makes ‘Hidden Folks’ worth your while and the hard-earned money in your wallet? ‘Hidden Folks’ is all about the large levels, so forget about looking for the hidden folks and objects without the help of clues like in ‘Where’s Wally?’ (a.k.a. ‘Where’s Wally?’). To find the concealed people and items, you’ll NEED to read the written clues, and manipulate the highly interactive environments (e.g., stop traffic, get a production line moving). It’s in these ways that ‘Hidden Folks’ differentiates itself from its contemporaries. Hidden objects puzzles are also punctuated by the occasional puzzle in which you clear up a path for a folk travelling from point A to B. It’s a welcoming diversion from hunting tiny drawings on huge, visually busy maps. Yet, it took a while for ‘Hidden Folks’ to get really entertaining. Compared to other hidden objects games I’ve played recently, it was tedious for the first 2 chapters (i.e., forest and desert themes). I almost gave up on it until I reached the third chapter, and that’s when the game truly shines and differentiates from its peers by showcasing more of its location interactivity and more interesting themes. ‘Hidden Folks’ is a fun hidden objects game that can be casually finished in a few hours, and in several more if you are a completionist. Given its slow start, I think this game is worth checking out when it goes on sale. But because the thought and creativity that the developers put into the level design is so obvious, ‘Hidden Folks’ – compared to its free-to-play peers – is still worth shelling out money for.
